The Hudson Brothers were sort a '70s ripoff of The Monkees (yes, I see the irony) who tried to combine a music career with a goofy TV variety show -- a career path more successfully followed, at least as far as a long TV run is concerned, a few years later by Sha Na Na.

The Hudson Brother's first 3 LPs "Hudson" "Totally Out of Control" and "Hollywood Situation" are some of the best Beatles-esque powerpop ever made... Maybe behind on only Badfinger, Big Star and later Twilley in terms of quantity and probably more consistently good in my opinion than the Raspberries. The fourth Ba Fa is pretty good as well but the production is very mainstream "1975".

They also some cool pop garage singles on Jerden as The New Yorkers and a great bubblegum single as Everyday Hudson.

Too bad no one's put more of their best songs on youtube.

A personal anecdote: I saw Mark Hudson a couple of years back leaving a restaurant in the East Village and my girlfriend (who's a powerpop fanatic) excitedly squealed out the tile of one of their best songs "Anytime at All!" and he acted really nervous and walked the other way quickly.

quote: The musical equivalent of a secret handshake, Big Star has been the ultimate cult band for decades, inspiring countless fans and fellow artists to worship at the Lennon and McCartney-esque altar of co-founders Alex Chilton and Chris Bell.

Most of those admirers — led by the likes of the Replacements, R.E.M. and Wilco — have inevitably wondered why these brilliant Memphis musicians never achieved the ironic ambitions of their name. Though their debut album, wryly titled “#1 Record,” is now acknowledged as a timeless masterpiece, it was so mishandled upon its 1972 release that hardly anyone even knew it existed. Things didn’t get much better from there.

They are, in other words, an ideal documentary subject. And it seems like a bittersweet inevitability that even a celebration as reverential as this one is suffused with such aching poignancy.

Hot Jazz, circa 1939. Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and group (known as the Quintette of the Hot Club of France) playing J'attendrai (I Will Wait) Swing. The initial commentary is a bit dry, but the music gets good around 2:28.

They are lip-synching, but the track is clearly an alternate take. Different vocal phrasing, the "ooh ooh, ahh" bit just before the final chorus, which itself is higher pitched than the single. Never knew this existed until now.

quote:Phil Baugh was a country badass, plain and simple. Other than sporting some major, low-down twang-ability, he flaunted wicked chops that could make Jimmy Bryant or Joe Maphis blush. Baugh’s signature tune, “Country Guitar,” featured the California native reeling off impressions of 6-string giants such as Les Paul, Merle Travis, Luther Perkins, Duane Eddy, Hank Garland, and others. Impressive? You betcha. But that’s not the whole story. Baugh’s playing exuded joy and humor—two traits seriously lacking in hot country guitar these days. Whether he was aping a banjo and a saxophone on “One Man Band,” or playing it straight behind Vern Stovall’s honky-tonkin’ vocals on “Good Times,” Baugh (who passed away in 1990 at the age of 53) is a serious study for anyone interested in country guitar that oozes style and attitude. -- Sundazed

A singer/guitarist and folk-influenced songwriter, Barbara Keith's curious career began when she was discovered at Greenwich Village's famous Café Wha?. Her first appearance on record was in 1968, with her background vocals and one of her songs appearing on the self-titled debut from Kangaroo. Verve Records released the first of two self-titled albums in 1969. Some critics fell in love with the album but as far as sales the album went nowhere. Her second self-titled album -- released by Reprise in 1972 -- coupled Keith with producer Doug Tibbles. Keith and Tibbles married and soon became unhappy with the music industry. Deciding to focus on family and develop their art with a major-label influence, Keith and Tibbles gave back their Reprise advance, a move that caused the label to under-promote her album. Once again, the album didn't achieve much as far as sales, but Keith's songwriting skills were being noticed throughout the record industry. Barbra Streisand, Lowell George, Tanya Tucker, Delaney & Bonnie, the Dillards, and many others covered songs from the album, "The Bramble and the Rose" and "Detroit or Buffalo" being the favorites.

Keith reappeared in the '90s with her "AC/DC meets Patsy Cline" band the Stone Coyotes with her husband, and son John Tibbles, rounding out the band. The band found a cult following of which writer Elmore Leonard was a member. Leonard included the band in his sequel to Get Shorty, Be Cool, and included five Keith songs in the text.